Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s riveting speech at the AIPAC conference in Washington, partially covered in “Netanyahu in DC: What legal woes?” (March 7), set out the same old paradigm for dealing with Iran.

Despite three failed popular uprisings against the regime, Mr.

Netanyahu still might believe that the “Iranian people” will somehow succeed in overthrowing Tehran’s “horrible tyranny.”

Good platitudes but without much operational insight or direction.

There is another paradigm – a frontal, psychological campaign against the internal Iranian empire where about half the population is not ethnic Persian.

That half is composed of Arabs, Azaris, Kurds and Baloochis in addition to many smaller minorities.

These are all doubly oppressed as subjects and ethnic minorities. They and their plight should be explicitly mentioned.

The paradigm would call for constitutional change in Iran with a view to reforming itself into a federal republic instead of an internal empire. If the choice be between “stopping Iran” and reforming Iran, many in the West could vote for the latter. The reconstitution of the Soviet Union from an “evil empire” into the Russian Federation is a clear example to be studied to include all the obvious differences and similarities.

More so, psychological warfare against Iran might currently offer a better option for the peace of the world than direct military action against the head of the ayatollah octopus, in addition to its tentacles.

Based on past experience, little can be expected of most of the 50 million ethnic Persians who possibly believe that they benefit from the trappings of internal empire. While the West might lose some of their good will, the further solidification of our alliance with hundreds of millions of Arab Sunnis echoing such change of policy direction could be an excellent trade-off.

Whatever one’s first-blush choice between these two paradigms, it is high time for America and Israel to submit them to fullcourt strategic and defense analyses, with America first implementing the conclusions, followed by Israel and many others.

AARON BRAUNSTEIN
JerusalemThe writer is a retired US Foreign Service officer who served 13 years in Arab and Muslim countries. His op-ed “Psychological warfare against Iran” appeared in The Jerusalem Post on October 24, 2017.

Enough is enough!

With regard to “Hefetz signs deal to become state’s witness in PM probes... and tells police: Yair Netanyahu has been hurting Israel’s security” (March 6), how is it “news” when the biggest revelation is that our prime minister discusses major decisions with his wife and son? Is that a crime? Enough is enough! Mr. Netanyahu is doing a great job! Let him work in peace! NEIL FRIEDMAN Hashmonaim

Rules for Rav Kav

Bus drivers are no longer loading Rav Kav cards. The move is at best inconvenient, and at worst could lead to chaos, arguments and a breakdown of civility on our transportation system.

Remember how ill-prepared everyone was for the first Rav Kav roll out? Passengers were put off the light rail by overly aggressive “Rav Kav police.”

Will this be Act II? Attempts to get a chip card at service centers have required as much as two or more hours.

There is an insufficient inventory of new chip cards and no plans to help school-aged children or large families obtain them.

The “Smart Card Reader” software, contrary to the installation instructions on the box, is not user friendly. Many people lack smart phones, computers or even credit cards.

People will occasionally forget that they are out of trips or forget their card. What then? I can only assume that transport personnel have undergone special training in dealing with a diverse, sometimes stiffednecked population to properly and respectfully handle consumer challenges.

Over the coming weeks, thousands of Passover and Easter pilgrims will fill the streets, along with thousands of Israeli children out of school for the holiday. Why launch the new Rav Kav policy now during holiday overload? SIDNEY (SHALOM) STRAJCHER
Jerusalem